Your Health Where It Belongs... Your Hands

Fasting Required: No
Specimen: Blood
Lab: Quest Diagnostics
Results: Test run Mon-Fri; Average processing time Report available in 4-5 days
Note: Result turnaround times are an estimate and are not guaranteed. Our reference lab may need additional time due to weather, holidays, confirmation/repeat testing, or equipment maintenance.

Includes:

• CA 19-9 (Cancer Antigen 19-9): CA 19-9 is elevated in about 70% of people with advanced pancreatic cancer, but it may also be elevated in other cancers, conditions, and diseases such as colorectal cancer, lung cancer, gallbladder cancer, bile duct obstruction (e.g., gallstones), pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, and liver disease.
  
  
• CA 125 (Cancer Antigen 125): CA-125 is a protein present on the surface of most ovarian cancer cells. Testing for CA-125 is used to monitor treatment or detect recurrence of ovarian cancer. It is not typically used as a general screening test because levels can be elevated in other conditions such as normal menstruation, pregnancy, endometriosis, and pelvic inflammatory disease. CA 125 can also be detected in other cancers such as pancreas, liver, colon, breast, endometrial, fallopian tube, gastrointestinal, and lung.
  
  
• Alpha Fetoprotein (AFP), Tumor Marker: The most important application of AFP (Alpha-Fetoprotein) testing in cancer management is for testicular cancer. Although not present in pure seminoma (testis cell tumor), elevated serum AFP is closely associated with nonseminomatous testicular cancer. AFP is not recommended as a screening procedure to detect cancer in the general population.
  
  
• CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen): A protein normally found in the tissue of a developing baby in the womb. CEA blood level disappears or becomes very low after birth. Increased CEA levels have been detected with primary colorectal cancer and in patients with other cancers such as medullary thyroid carcinoma, breast cancer, cancer of the gastrointestinal tract, liver cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer. Elevated levels can also be caused by infection, cirrhosis of the liver, chronic smoking, and inflammatory bowel disease. CEA levels provide important information about patient prognosis, recurrence of tumors after surgical removal, and effectiveness of therapy.
  
  
• PSA, Total (Prostate Specific Antigen): The prostate specific antigen (PSA), is a protein made only in the prostate gland. PSA is produced by normal, abnormal and cancerous prostatic tissue. The PSA blood test is an accurate measure of this amount. The theory is that cancer causes more of the protein to be made and leaked into the blood than normal prostate tissue, so PSA is now used for assisting in the diagnosis and monitoring of prostatic carcinoma.